All journeys start with the first step

[carole]

Mikey boy yes I do like your new look. Suits you sir

blackhound I hope everything is or will be going okay at your appointment, let us know how you get on. GOOD LUCK

 

[Mikey Boy]

Yes good luck blackhound. DO let us know how it goes

 

[blackhound]

Yes good luck blackhound. DO let us know how it goes

Thanks, Mikey. I definitely will. I'm just sitting here at work compulsively looking at the clock every 5 minutes and getting more and more freaked out. Ugh.

BH

 

[Mikey Boy]

It'll be ok you can do it I remember how I felt after my last appointment feeling so angry and frustrated that nothing was done and still the same But iM better now though

 

[blackhound]

My first treatment plan after a 6 year absence.

For reference, all of the teeth needing work have massive amalgam fillings that are approximately 30-40 years old. All that being said, it could have been awful. As it stands it really is in the category of "what did you expect after 40 years!".

#14, #15, and #19 have cavities under the old amalgam, so they are being drilled out and restored with composite. #29 is the same. #30 is the same except that the amalgam filling is so large it has to be crowned.

And that's it for the teeth.

As undeniably terrified as I am going to be about the lower mandible nerve block, I'm determined to gut this out. I had a talk with the doc and he never uses articane for mandible blocks. I will be getting 2% lidocaine. The rest is all down to trust and quite possibly sacrificing a goat to the dental gods.

I think the biggest surprise was the Perio exam. I have issues, I know I do. But I actually had places where the gum soundings were better than they were 6 years ago. Thank you dental floss and waterpik!! But I also had soundings that need help. Overall I had 2's and 3's with a few 4's, a couple of 5's and one pretty bad spot where it came out a 7. But it's one spot on one side of one tooth so I take solace in that.

The perio plan is for a deep cleaning and local delivery of Arestin under the gum in the pockets that need attention. And then 3 month recalls and we go from there.

So. 4 cavities, a crown, and a deep cleaning. Even though this will be an emotional fight to the finish, I feel like I've dodged a bullet.

Next Tuesday it begins.

BH

 

[Mikey Boy]

And the journey begins good luck man I'm pulling for. You

 

[blackhound]

And the journey begins good luck man I'm pulling for. You

Thanks, Mikey. I really appreciate the support.

BH

 

[Mikey Boy]

You're welcome that's we're here for

 

[blackhound]

For the journal record:

#14, 15 and 19 now have Cerec CAD inlays. I survived the IANB shot with no ill effects. I hate that damn bite block but I understand why the dentist needs me to use it -- small jaw that doesn't open up real wide and doesn't like to stay open.

Next appointment is September 13th for the first two quadrants of the root planing and scaling.

I am progressing far enough in my attitude that I am beginning to think about elective procedures such as having the few remaining almalgam fillings drilled out next year. Maybe.

For the record my teeth:



BH

 

[carole]

Well I have done something I don't usually do, I had a look at your teeth and they are very nice and white. You should be proud of your teeth. You are doing really well, I think you are very brave even thinking about having fillings taken out to be replaced.

Thank you for the update.

 

[jellyfish]

I think your teeth look great!

I actually love the bite block, if I don't get it my jaw aches for a week.

ps. think very very carefully about replacing fillings just for cosmetic reasons. Filling replacement does have risks (ask me how I know), and you will probably need to get them replaced eventually anyway when the old fillings wear out. By then the dental materials should be even better than they are now too!

 

[blackhound]

Well I have done something I don't usually do, I had a look at your teeth and they are very nice and white. You should be proud of your teeth. You are doing really well, I think you are very brave even thinking about having fillings taken out to be replaced.

Thank you for the update.

Thank you, Carole. It's funny. I don't think of my teeth as white. To me they look too yellow. I guess that's some sort of dental dysmorphic problem. Even one of the dental assistants today commented on how nice and white my teeth looked. One thing I'm not real interested in is having blazing white teeth. I want healthy and functional and clean.

As far as removing the fillings I'm thinking in terms of pre-emptive strike. The problems I've been having as of late are ancient fillings that are crumbling. One tooth broke, the ones I had done today were decaying under the old amalgam, and I have another scheduled that has been overworked to the point of needing a crown. Looking at my dental charts and xrays I have a few more with fillings that are bisecting the teeth making them ripe for fracture.

But one thing at a time!

BH

 

[blackhound]

I think your teeth look great!

I actually love the bite block, if I don't get it my jaw aches for a week.

ps. think very very carefully about replacing fillings just for cosmetic reasons. Filling replacement does have risks (ask me how I know), and you will probably need to get them replaced eventually anyway when the old fillings wear out. By then the dental materials should be even better than they are now too!

Thank you jellyfish. As I was saying to Carole, I tend to think of my teeth as yellowish but I'm chalking that up to hyper self-criticism.

I'm actually thinking of pre-emptive strike. All the work I'm having done is related to ancient fillings that are coming apart and causing significant problems. After the immediate problems are fixed I will have 2 back molars and some scattered pre-molars with silver fillings. I'm worried about the back molars particularly. The fillings bisect the teeth completely and even leak out the side. I've already had 2 broken cusps that required major restorations. I'm worried about having it happen again because if one of them snaps below the gum line I'm screwed and looking at an implant.

I'd love to hear about the risks if it's not too personal.

BH

 

[jellyfish]

Ah, I understand! Maybe your dentist can give you an idea of which teeth are at risk of fracture.

If you do decide to have them replaced, my advice is not to do them all at once. Last summer, an evil dentist (no really, evil) replaced all seven of my asymptomatic, painless amalgam fillings - I thought she was just going to replace two or three that were ancient but she did all of them without explaining. To make a very, very long story short, I ended up with 12 months of tooth pain, 6 months of not being able to chew anything at all, 3 root canals w/crowns, another filling that had to be re-refilled with amalgam, $8k out of pocket, and the paresthesia as icing on the cake. If I had just had one section of teeth done at a time, almost all of that fiasco could have been avoided....

eta: we were posting at the same time
The risk is that the teeth that have been sleeping for decades will be unhappy with being drilled on, especially if the fillings are big & deep. If the nerve gets too irritated, you may need a root canal.

 

[Mikey Boy]

Congrats blackhound on the victory today and your teeth are coming along great

 

[blackhound]

Tomorrow (Thursday, September 13) is the start of Phase Two of my dental rehab. This phase is the root planing and scaling part of the festivities.

Two quadrants scheduled for the deep cleaning and the placement of Arestin in the gum areas with pockets. I'm a bit jittery even though I've had this done before, but not too bad. Fortunately I don't have to face the anesthetic needle. That comes around again in Phase Three, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Just trying to focus on one step at a time.

BH

 

[carole]

I missed you before you went but I hope it all went well for you. Let us know how you got on please

 

[blackhound]

Back from the first half of the deep cleaning.

I was pretty good going in because I knew there wasn't going to be the dreaded anesthesia needle, but things went a bit pear-shaped when I found out that the regular hygenist was out for some minor medical problems and the hygenist from the other office location was filling in.

It totally freaked me out. I could feel the panic rushing in because this was someone new. It was frightening and enlightening because I didn't realize how fragile that sense of security actually was.

Knowing that speaking about the fear helps to quell it, I told the hygenist that I was phobic and feeling panicky. She was sweet, kind, and caring which backed the panic down to where I could soldier on. As the appointment progressed and I spent more time with her I felt more and more at ease and by the end of the appointment everything was fine.

I had the upper right quadrant and the lower right quadrant cleaned out and Arestin put into the bigger pockets. I had Arestin therapy 6 years ago and it worked extremely well in closing down the pockets so I hope I get the same result this time. And this time I am determined to stick to my 3 month recall schedule.

Next appointment for the left side deep cleaning is October 3. Onward ....

BH

 

[Mikey Boy]

Great job blackhound glad to see you making progress

 

[blackhound]

Great job blackhound glad to see you making progress

Thanks, Mikey. It seems like this is just going on forever but I'm halfway there. Can't quit now. Thanks for all the support.



BH